RANZCO’s inaugural virtual congress has been hailed “a huge success”, with hundreds of delegates tuning in to view four days of lectures and events that will remain available on-demand for the next three months.
The digital event – which ran in place of a face-to-face event originally planned for Brisbane due to the Omicron outbreak – kicked off with more than 200 people attending Alcon’s hosted morning symposium, and more than 300 for the Opening Plenary on Saturday 26 February.
In addition, well over 400 signed in for the Dame Ida Mann Memorial Lecture with Dr Alex Hewitt, with numbers remaining strong late into day one with over 380 delegates tuned in for the OCT Angiography in the Management of Retinal Disease in 2021 course and almost 100 delegates for the Oculoplastic/Ocular Oncology Rapid Fire.
Day one also featured the Practice Manager’s AGM, including practical guidance around COVID-19. And many also attended the popular Refractive Update, Cataract Update and the Norman McAlister Gregg Lecture with Professor Graham Barrett on Sunday 27 February.
“Using the virtual platform was a learning experience in itself, but with the help of the Think Business Events Team, RANZCO staff, industry, congress convenors, Scientific Program Committee, RANZCO Board members, speakers and the Fellows, trainees, associates, and Congress delegates, we have all made this a huge success,” RANZCO stated.
The congress also featured a range of exhibitors on virtual booths that delegates could visit and interact with. Notable products included the launch of a new intense pulsed light (IPL) system for dry eye by Ellex/Quantel Medical and Zeiss showcasing its QUATERA 700 which represents a new experience in phacoemulsification for cataract surgeons.
There was also a RANZCO Museum Booth which RANZCO museum curator Mr David Kaufmann prepared.
For delegates wanting to re-watch sessions or view those that were missed, RANZCO will keep the session recordings available on the virtual platform for 90 days on demand.
“We’ve been through postponements for over two years and now that we’re concluding RANZCO’s 52nd Annual Congress, we’re so excited to see you face-to-face in the 53rd Annual Congress on 28 October to 1 November 2022 in Brisbane,” RANZCO added.
The college also unveiled its 2022 award winners, who were:
BEST PAPER – Gerard Crock Trophy
Dr George Kong
Home monitoring of visual field for glaucoma patients using tablet device: 12-month outcomes.
BEST PAPER – John Parr Trophy
Mr Finley Breeze
Predicting ophthalmic clinic non-attendance using machine learning.
BEST CPD AUDIT
Mr Joel Mudri
Antimicrobial Stewardship: Changing behaviour through collaborative audit. What more is needed for surgeons to kick the topical antibiotic habit?
BEST COMMUNITY OPHTHALMOLOGY FILM
Dr Carmelo Macri
Film 18 – Patient Information Video – Face-down positioning after vitreoretinal surgery.
BEST SURGICAL TECHNIQUE FILM
Dr Tabitha M Scott
Film 15 – Filling the Gap – Artificial iris intraocular lenses.
BEST OPHTHALMIC RESEARCH FILM
Dr Tanya Kowalski
Film 14 – ‘Misperception’ – an ophthalmology trainee’s take on preparing for the first cataract surgery.
BEST OVERALL FILM
Dr Tabitha M Scott
Film 15 – Filling the Gap – Artificial iris intraocular lenses.
BEST E-POSTER
Edmund W C Khong
Diabetic retinopathy in the postpartum in women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in metropolitan Melbourne.
BEST EPOSTER – PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Dr Keith Ong
Is zero incidence of post-operative endophthalmitis after cataract surgery achievable?
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